For US people: Canadian ballots are not at all like those that we see here. Because we have regular elections (notwithstanding special elections to fill unexpected vacancies and local-gov't elections in many states) we tend to have many, many items on the ballot including people in all three branches of state and local gov'ts in addition to federal (one or two every two years, one to three every four) not to mention ballot initiatives and tax increases. In Canada, there is usually a single race on a ballot. IOW, the problem spec is very different from that of the US.
You're thinking of 'deus ex machina', which is a plot device along the lines of "and suddenly a god-like being appeared and fixed everything". It's the fate of all lazy fiction and, sadly, it's not restricted to sci-fi
You could strip out the 25th century tech in Star Trek and replace it with 18th century tech -- make the Enterprise a man o'war (with a particularly eccentric crew) at large upon the seven seas during the age of sail -- without changing the scripts significantly.
Um, yeah... there's a reason why Roddenberry pitched it as "Wagon Train to the Stars".
Don't forget Kubuntu [kubuntu.org]! It's got KDE 4.2 now!
Really? I was all excited when 8.10 came out, installed it... then had to go back to 8.04 after a few days. Why? Simple. My existing desktop environment was unavailable in the "new" KDE (Keramic? Crystal? Which actually tells you the name?)
Sure, KDE 4 is all new, super-duper coding, but if I can't get my desktop to behave the way it has for years it's useless to me. I can't afford to spend a day or three learning a totally new desktop environment and customizing it to my needs. And when I say years, I mean back to the first release SuSE under the then-not-evil Novell bought it.
I don't care what the devs do behind the scenes as long as I can work.
The code requirement for license to operate on radio bands that are considered long distance is mandatory by the treaties that setup a global radiospace for ham radio.
Until a few years ago. The International Radio Regulations were changed by consensus in 2003 and the US FCC finally dropped all Morse Code telegraphy testing in February of 2007. Now it's only the hard-core whiners that carry on about Morse.:-)
Where US testing is lacking is in the theory. I have no issue with the Q&A pool being public domain (as it has been since 1984), but we really need more than a 35-question to get in, and 35- and 50-question tests to upgrade. Make them all at least 50. At one time, there was a Morse telegraphy test to pass as well, however...:-)
And for goodness' sake, make them at least as hard as when I too the tests in 1991! Yes, that's a bit of "I had to do it so you should too"ism, but so?
Sure, PV modules don't convert all they see to useful electricity. Where they really shine (sorry) is that they generate that power AT THE POINT OF USE.
Note that of the 38.2 quads (quadrillion BTUs) of electrical energy produced in the USA in 2002, fully 26.3 quads never get used! That's where the real power (sorry again) of solar is found.
On a roof, such cells would require less than half the surface area to produce the same amount of power as today's standard solar panels, which have an efficiency of about 17%.
Don't confuse cell efficiency with module efficiency (numerous cells connected together, put into something that can go on your roof, and make useful energy). By the time you add an inverter (to convert the module's dc to ac) and especially if you add storage batteries (as opposed to a grid-tied system), the efficiency goes down further.
That said, this is great news. Folks in enlightened states, like Kullyfornia, are already using rebates to make clean energy at their homes. Even without rebates, for the price of a Hummer, you can cover almost all your electrical needs from the sun TODAY ("Air conditioning not included!").
With research cells (as opposed to commercially available modules) poised to get 40%, it's only a matter of time before the nuke and coal industries *really* start to hurt.
YOU are exacly why Netflix is inclined to put something like this in place.
Then explain why it affects my wife and I. We joined in October and have managed to watch about 5 discs or so per week, mostly Farscape (never saw them new!), but a bunch of movies, too. I've never ripped a DVD in my life.
Nonetheless, her queue (separate profile) is now being ignored. Doesn't matter if a disc was at the top of the queue or not, they seem to just ship what they please. Up until about 2 weeks ago, the discs would arrive within a day, maybe two. Now, up to 4 days.
Pretty clearly NF is throttling us, but come on - 5 discs a week is unreasonable? Please.
Telemetry in EMS was started in the 1960s and was widespread by the 1980s (cf. Jack Webb's "Emergency!"). The cardiac monitor was set up to modulate a 1000 Hz tone that was transmitted via radio or landline. Newer systems use fax to transmit 12-lead EKGs.
Turns out, though, that Paramedics can be just as good at reading EKGs as MDs, so in a lot of places, "sending a strip" is rarely done.
Adding the ability to send other vitals (O2 sat, T/P/R, BP, etc) is a fine idea, but all they seem to be doing here is sending the telemetry via satellite instead of VHF/UHF (or cellphone).
Given that most rural areas can barely afford to field a Paramedic-level ambulance, I don't think we'll be seeing too much of this at $250k/unit.
It *is* a good opportunity to show that a tiny %age of the miltary's budget goes to things that don't actually kill people.
>>>>Perhaps if Jamie were a real journalist (like any _real_ columnist should be) he would have provided a link to information proving his point, rather than an article whose rhetoric was at least better written than his own.
When I first turned on the radio today (Saturday local), the HF bands had "normal" propagation, with signals on 20, 15, 17 and 10 m. WWV was about S9 on 15 MHz and about half that on 10 MHz. Turned the radio off at ~1900z. By 2000 z or so, when I turned it back on to see if there was evidence of the storm, there was NADA. No amateur stations, no WWV (even at 2.5 MHz).
Slashdot Mirror
For US people: Canadian ballots are not at all like those that we see here. Because we have regular elections (notwithstanding special elections to fill unexpected vacancies and local-gov't elections in many states) we tend to have many, many items on the ballot including people in all three branches of state and local gov'ts in addition to federal (one or two every two years, one to three every four) not to mention ballot initiatives and tax increases. In Canada, there is usually a single race on a ballot. IOW, the problem spec is very different from that of the US.
And this is different from NSA, et al ... how?
I'm kind of astonished that the author of the Fortune article could be that stupid.
Why? What in what passes for modern journalism would cause you to be astonished?
You mean like BSG's "ending"?
From TFA:
Um, yeah ... there's a reason why Roddenberry pitched it as "Wagon Train to the Stars".
Which is why only one Steve is still at the top of the Apple org chart ...
Really? I was all excited when 8.10 came out, installed it ... then had to go back to 8.04 after a few days. Why? Simple. My existing desktop environment was unavailable in the "new" KDE (Keramic? Crystal? Which actually tells you the name?)
Sure, KDE 4 is all new, super-duper coding, but if I can't get my desktop to behave the way it has for years it's useless to me. I can't afford to spend a day or three learning a totally new desktop environment and customizing it to my needs. And when I say years, I mean back to the first release SuSE under the then-not-evil Novell bought it.
I don't care what the devs do behind the scenes as long as I can work.
/bleah
Until a few years ago. The International Radio Regulations were changed by consensus in 2003 and the US FCC finally dropped all Morse Code telegraphy testing in February of 2007. Now it's only the hard-core whiners that carry on about Morse. :-)
Where US testing is lacking is in the theory. I have no issue with the Q&A pool being public domain (as it has been since 1984), but we really need more than a 35-question to get in, and 35- and 50-question tests to upgrade. Make them all at least 50. At one time, there was a Morse telegraphy test to pass as well, however ... :-)
And for goodness' sake, make them at least as hard as when I too the tests in 1991! Yes, that's a bit of "I had to do it so you should too"ism, but so?
73,Peter
Here's an easier URL for the chart:
https://eed.llnl.gov/flow/02flow.php
Sure, PV modules don't convert all they see to useful electricity. Where they really shine (sorry) is that they generate that power AT THE POINT OF USE.
Look at the chart on p 8 (of 41) of this pdf from Lawrence Livermore National Labs.
Note that of the 38.2 quads (quadrillion BTUs) of electrical energy produced in the USA in 2002, fully 26.3 quads never get used! That's where the real power (sorry again) of solar is found.
Premiere Election Solutions
PEZ? Put your thumb on the button and out pops the candidate of the machine's choice?
Don't confuse cell efficiency with module efficiency (numerous cells connected together, put into something that can go on your roof, and make useful energy). By the time you add an inverter (to convert the module's dc to ac) and especially if you add storage batteries (as opposed to a grid-tied system), the efficiency goes down further.
That said, this is great news. Folks in enlightened states, like Kullyfornia, are already using rebates to make clean energy at their homes. Even without rebates, for the price of a Hummer, you can cover almost all your electrical needs from the sun TODAY ("Air conditioning not included!").
With research cells (as opposed to commercially available modules) poised to get 40%, it's only a matter of time before the nuke and coal industries *really* start to hurt.
See this article from a decade ago musing about 18% efficient cells http://lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/pure-sola
Most pop flies are caught and result in the batter being out. In fact, when the Infield Fly Rule is invoked, it's an automatic out. Fitting.
Then explain why it affects my wife and I. We joined in October and have managed to watch about 5 discs or so per week, mostly Farscape (never saw them new!), but a bunch of movies, too. I've never ripped a DVD in my life.
Nonetheless, her queue (separate profile) is now being ignored. Doesn't matter if a disc was at the top of the queue or not, they seem to just ship what they please. Up until about 2 weeks ago, the discs would arrive within a day, maybe two. Now, up to 4 days.
Pretty clearly NF is throttling us, but come on - 5 discs a week is unreasonable? Please.
PL
Telemetry in EMS was started in the 1960s and was widespread by the 1980s (cf. Jack Webb's "Emergency!"). The cardiac monitor was set up to modulate a 1000 Hz tone that was transmitted via radio or landline. Newer systems use fax to transmit 12-lead EKGs.
Turns out, though, that Paramedics can be just as good at reading EKGs as MDs, so in a lot of places, "sending a strip" is rarely done.
Adding the ability to send other vitals (O2 sat, T/P/R, BP, etc) is a fine idea, but all they seem to be doing here is sending the telemetry via satellite instead of VHF/UHF (or cellphone).
Given that most rural areas can barely afford to field a Paramedic-level ambulance, I don't think we'll be seeing too much of this at $250k/unit.
It *is* a good opportunity to show that a tiny %age of the miltary's budget goes to things that don't actually kill people.
Peter
ex-NREMT-P
http://www.kingpublishing.com/publications/dw/
And W's IQ is 167.
Not
When I first turned on the radio today (Saturday local), the HF bands had "normal" propagation, with signals on 20, 15, 17 and 10 m. WWV was about S9 on 15 MHz and about half that on 10 MHz. Turned the radio off at ~1900z. By 2000 z or so, when I turned it back on to see if there was evidence of the storm, there was NADA. No amateur stations, no WWV (even at 2.5 MHz).
...
Way cool.
Unless racoons chewed through my feedline
Peter
A 5 in 9-land.